Tajine with meatballs and potatoes (tomato sauce)

Tagine with meatballs, potatoes and olives. A family friendly dish. Very fragrant with spices and aromatic herbs.ANNOUNCEMENT

It is a complete and comforting dish. It is eaten with bread to dip in the sauce. You don’t have to have a terracotta tagine to make this dish.

A casserole dish or large skillet with a lid works well.

Type of recipe : Tajine
Cuisine : Great Maghreb
Quantity : 4

Prep: 15 min
Cook : 45 min
Total : 1 hr

Ingredients : 

– 500 g of minced beef (or half beef – half lamb or veal)
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 1 tablespoon of paprika
– 1 drizzle of olive oil
– ½ teaspoon of cumin powder
– 6 medium potatoes
– 1 medium white or red onion
– 1 teaspoon powdered ginger

– ½ teaspoon of chilli powder (optional)
– 1 cup | 250 ml peeled and crushed tomatoes (I used canned tomatoes)
– A few rinsed and drained olives (green and/or purple)
– 1 bunch of parsley (or coriander, or half and half)
– Fresh mint or dry (optional)
– Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation : 

Prepare your ingredients:

Peel your onion and chop finely.

Peel your garlic cloves and press them in a garlic press (or chop them).

Chop the parsley leaves (or coriander) and possibly the mint leaves.

Peel your potatoes and cut them in four then each quarter in 2.

Start preparing the tomato sauce:

Pour a drizzle of oil into your tajine dish (a casserole dish or a large frying pan with a lid). Heat it then add your chopped onion. Leave to come back for a few moments while stirring.

Add the garlic and sauté quickly.

Pour the crushed tomatoes, half of each spice, and 1 small glass of water. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently, covered, for 10 minutes.

Minced meatballs:

While the tomato sauce is cooking, prepare the meatballs: put your minced meat in a bowl. Add the rest of the spices and half of the herbs. Salt to taste.

Mix everything by hand.

Form balls the size of a walnut.

The meatball tagine:

Add the potato pieces, meatballs and olives to the tomato sauce. Lightly salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the rest of the aromatic herbs.

Cover and cook for 35 minutes, until meatballs and potatoes are cooked. Pierce the potatoes with the tip of a knife or fork, if it digs

easily, they are cooked.

To serve :

Serve your hot tagine with bread for sauce.

I always add a drizzle of olive oil. I love olive oil. Enjoy your food!

Recipe Notes

To save some time:

To. you can prepare the mixture of minced meat and spices the day before. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

b. You can also prepare the tomato sauce in advance.

Warning: do not add too much salt, the olives are already salty.
If you prefer, you can desalinate them before adding them to your tagine. To do this, simply boil them two or three times in water (draining them and changing the water each time).

For spicy lovers like me: when serving, remember to add a little harissa or any other hot sauce of your choice. Yummy!

To make meatball tagine variations:
a. Do not hesitate to replace (or add more) potatoes, other vegetables of your choice. Think of green beans, artichokes, fennel, peas, fresh or frozen beans, …

b. And why not also use meatballs of chicken or ground turkey, or fish? It’s good too

Source : https://www.cuisineculinaire.com/